I love making sweet quick breads (that are really cakes) and calling them “breads,” because it makes me feel so much healthier- even though I’m not fooling anybody.

This applesauce streusel bread is one of those love at first bite kind of breads.  It is packed full of the flavors of fall- cinnamon, apples, pumpkin pie spice, and it will fill your entire house with a comforting, homey aroma- the kind that will make your spouse ask you “What did you just bake?” the second they walk in the door.

I found this recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine, one of my favorite old-school standbys- my mother-in-law gave me a huge stack of old ones a couple of years ago, and they are solid gold.  It’s fun browsing through the old jello-mold recipes and finding the hidden gems.

I adapted the bread part just a tad, and then for good measure, I added the streusel, because, lets face it, streusel makes everything just a little bit better.

I urge you to go right home and make this bread.  Really.  Make it now.

Enjoy.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home, September/October 2000 issue.

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) of room temperature butter, divided (you will need 1/3 cup for the bread, and the rest for the streusel)
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups applesauce
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 granny smith apple, diced, and marinated in 1 tablespoon of sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
*optional- 1/2 cup raisins or 1/2 cup walnuts, or both, if you like a really hearty bread.

Streusel:
Remaining butter (after you have used 1/3 cup of the stick for the bread)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan (9×4) and line with a parchment paper sling.

Dice your apples and place them in a bowl with a little cinnamon and sugar to marinate.

In a mixer, cream together 1/3 cup of the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the applesauce and the egg and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Fold in the apples.

Pour into your prepared loaf pan.  It should be 3/4 full.  If you are using a smaller loaf pan, you might have a little bit of batter left.  Only fill it 3/4 full.

Mix all streusel ingredients together with your fingers until it is nice and crumbly.  Spread it evenly over the top of your bread.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Start checking around 40 minutes for done-ness.

Enjoy!